Meaning & use
decompress
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Meanings
verbintransitiveinformal
To relax and let go of stress after a tense time.
Grammar: No object: I need to decompress.
Patterns
- decompress after something
I go for a walk to decompress after work.
They needed a weekend to decompress.
She decompresses by reading.
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical
To reduce pressure on something, or return a diver or patient to normal pressure.
Grammar: Divers decompress; staff decompress a diver.
Patterns
- decompress something
Divers must decompress slowly on the way up.
The chamber decompresses the patient gradually.
verbtransitivecomputing
To expand a compressed computer file back to its normal size.
Grammar: Takes an object: decompress the file.
Patterns
- decompress a file
Decompress the archive before opening it.
The software decompresses images quickly.
Word forms
| third person singular | decompresses |
|---|---|
| past tense | decompressed |
| past participle | decompressed |
| -ing form | decompressing |
Common combinations
- time to decompress
- We need time to decompress.
- decompress a file
- Decompress the zip file.
- decompress after work
- I decompress after work with music.
- decompress slowly
- Divers must decompress slowly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unwind
- Informal and specifically about relaxing.
- relax
- General, with no sense of after stress.
- unzip
- Only for files.
- destress
- Directly about removing stress.
Opposites
Word family
- decompression noun
- the process of decompressing
- compress verb
- to press or squeeze into less space
Commonly confused: decompress or depress?
decompress vs depress
Depress means make sad or press down, not relax.
Practice
After the exam week, I took a long bath to ___.
Choose one answer.
Decompress means relax after stress. Compress means squeeze together.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “decompress”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.